Players: Rey (Kadim/Saladin) Herrera, Stan (Raichleach/Sibyla/Cajetan/Kauldi) Pedzick, Dave (Fitzcairn/Marius) Geissinger, me (Niccolo/Dominicus); missing: Noel (Jesse) Chandler

GM: John Barnes (Author and Ringmaster)

KADIM/SALADIN learned that Imperial Heir Hadrian’s army had arrived at Emprus. He ordered his ship readied, just to be safe. Hadrian announced that he would enter the city the following morning. Kadim tried to Trump Osric – it was warm. Hm. Present in the palace was himself, Fitzcairn/Marius, Parsifal, Hypatia, Raichleach/Sibyla, Ambrose and Jesse. Kara, Gerard and Niccolo/Dominicus were off with their military units. Kadim rounded up his crew and sailed off into Shadow. He went to his personal shadow, St. Levau and checked on the war he’d started up. It was rolling right along. The major causus bellum was a slight difference of opinion in religion. Kadim avoided contact with the belligerents and found a tropical island suitable for a base. He brutally brought the native tribes to heel.

NICCOLO/DOMINICUS mustered three thousand soldiers and divided them into three groups. Two did fast sweeps for prisoners and information while the third stayed at HQ as a reserve. They had little success, so Nic led his group on a deep probe with the second mobile unit halfway back to HQ and poised to support. Templars reported heavy Logrus use ahead. A lone Chaosite using tendrils was the source. Nic led a commando group to sneak up on the target and capture him. They took some casualties but succeeded. Intense scouting found a trap just beyond the Logrus-Master lure – 7000 troops. Nic pulled the scouts back and broke contact, moving at lightning Focus1000 speed to a safer distance. He KO’d the Chaosite for psychic interrogation. The creature served a newly arisen Chaosite leader known only as the Master. The Master had gathered a huge force and was going to attack the Empire with it. The Master was very careful to not let anyone see his features, so Nic couldn’t get any kind of lock on him or make a Trump. Nic wanted the prisoner interrogated by experts; he Trumped Random. Random was about to be interrogated. Nic left Random to it and had his Templars and officers expedite Trumping the information up through channels.

RAICHLEACH had a very interesting conversation with Sibelius. He told her about the main factions in the royal family. Lothario, Justinian’s brother, had always wanted to be Emperor. His daughter Hypatia had her own faction and only pretended to be Lothario’s puppet. Trajan had been a major player up until his recent breakdown. The attack on Fitzcairn and Hypatia’s carriage had been the work of one of the noble houses. Sibelius asked Sibyla/Rai about her family’s origins. She gave him the cover story about being descendants of exiles. Sibelius listened politely and then explained that his family had long been the premier Trump Artists to the emperors. They also had a quirk, an ability to see auras and could tell what powers a person had merely by examining their aura. He was intrigued that Sibyla had the Templar power, plus something else that he didn’t recognize. The Emperor had been Sibelius’ patron and he was looking for a new one. Siblya said she’d discuss it with her husband. Sibelius mentioned that she had the cutest red tinge to her aura when she lied. Sibyla/Rai called for snacks. She asked about his limits as a Trump Artist. He could get an image after five seconds of study, and could make Trumps from descriptions.

Hadrian’s army relieved the palace guard and put everyone under house arrest. Sibyla was told to stay available and asked where her husband was. She didn’t know. They searched her apartments. Random got questioned, then Ambrose. Kadim had scarpered. Rai ran into Parsifal and chatted. He’d been researching the wizards, the Trump Artists and Dalt. Rai tracked down Ambrose next. He’d been maintaining a low profile since everyone had decided he was useless. Hypatia was on edge. She told Rai to not bother with any party plans. Hadrian might delay or forbid her marriage to Fitzcairn; maybe it was for the best. She and Rai talked about clients. The more and more powerful, the better. Best way to keep prosecutors at bay. Plus, they provided troops, popular support. Hypatia suggested Rai start cultivating some. Or… become her client. It would give Rai connections and information. Rai went to a window and studied Hadrian’s army. They looked good, professional and at least up to Ambler levels of order. Units of griffin riders provided a strong air arm.

Sibyla/Rai’s interrogation was mild. They determined that she wasn’t actually a bodyguard or even very practiced in the martial arts. She told them, truthfully, that she didn’t know where her husband was. They took a small blood sample and found that she had some shapeshifting ability but she denied Chaosite connections. She admitted to being a Templar, something they’d been unaware of. In regards to the emperor’s murder, she said she’d detected only some movement. Marius/Fitz and Hypatia had ducked under the table – him protecting her. "Rather than the Emperor," they commented. She said the guards had done an admirable job of preventing anyone from leaving after the event. She hadn’t seen what happened to the crown; it might have shattered or it might be imbedded in the ceiling.

KADIM turned the poor natives into alcoholic slave-laborers and had a Spanish-type fort built. He went out to recruit soldiers and ended up buying chain gangs as well as sweeping up dregs. His wages were low. He got hailed and boarded by Right Cheekers [It wouldn’t hurt to have alternate terms for the religious factions. Yes, I came up with Left and Right Cheekers --- for which buttock of the idols of the Divine Kadim they kissed --- but it was a joke.] despite his RC flag. They were curious about his foreign-looking ship and his origins but rum and a little gold got them to leave. Kadim settled he new men and left to rejoin the Imperial Fleet and pretend to be working. He found the Albatross and caroused with its captain. Business was good. He consulted Gerard and got up to date about Hadrian.

FITZCAIRN/MARIUS dreamed that he was in a glass-cased grave being buried by Hypatia. Thumping feet woke him up and put his Fingermen on alert. Four of Hadrian’s men knocked on the door and summoned him to talk with the emperor-designate’s investigators. Fitz cleaned up and dressed and was escorted downstairs. He passed Random and sweaty, disheveled Ambrose. There were three investigators and some burly guards but no Praetorians about. The investigators thought Marius might have had some advance warning of the attack. There were conflicting stories but all agreed that he had dove under the table. He told them he’d felt a magical force build up. There had been other attempts on his life and he assumed that it was aimed at him or his fiancée. Could the emperor have been hit by an attack aimed at Marius? Possible. In retrospect attacks aimed at Marius were far more likely to be physical rather than opposing his strengths. They examined his hands – not a warrior. Took a blood sample; one of his relatives had turned out to be an unregistered shapeshifter. The chief investigator obviously disliked Marius for some reason. Marius told them that he was investigating the murder himself; might they share information? He was advised to petition Hadrian.

Random, Ambrose, Parsifal and Raichleach were in the palace. No Osric. Nic and Kara were at frontier posts. Gerard and Kadim were with the fleets. He met with Hypatia. She’d been contacted by Hadrian and learned that the mourning period would delay the marriage for perhaps months. She seemed unusually reserved. Spies? Fitz made some inquiries and learned that Jesse was in custody, restrained and unconscious after resisting arrest. Agrippa, Hadrian’s wife, was safely with her husband. He did some maintenance on the palace’s decaying magical defenses. Though tired, he checked in with his Blue Star people. They told him that people were moonlighting without their superior’s knowledge, a few of them doing things really outrageous. There were rumors of an important Chaosite captive being brought in for interrogation, captured by Lord Dominicus on a punitive raid. Hadrian’s troopers explained that interrogating slimies was a fine art best left to professionals. They questioned Jesse’s loyalty and mentioned her mental instability. Fitz defended her. Marius/Fitz’ odds of actually marrying Hypatia, they told him, were poor.

NICCOLO/DOMINICUS Trumped through to Random with his ranking Templar. He told the guards about his captive. They had heard already and escorted them out to Hadrian’s camp. Nic was in his best military (‘working for Benedict’) mode, self-assured and all business. He reported to Hadrian’s aide-de-camp and had the captive Trumped through. Guards took the creature away. Nic cooled his heels a bit waiting for Hadrian to (he thought) get through talking to the Templar. Hadrian came in and introduced himself. He got more details of the raid and then started asking questions about the murder. Dominicus told the truth – he tried to tell the truth as much as possible throughout the session – without mentioning Dalt; he hadn’t detected anything prior to Marius and Marcellus scrambling for cover under the table and the explosion. It looked like magic to him and he assumed that the magic mavens closest to the event probably felt it coming just before it hit. Hadrian told him that Marcellus had disappeared. Dominicus thought about it and said that Marcellus had a habit of vanishing when danger came close --- Hadrian interrupted, "He’s a coward, then?" –- and then reappeared at his enemy’s weak point. Marcellus would have taken a magical assassination right next to him as a personal threat. Hadrian brought up Jesse and Dom told him the story he’d concocted, that Jesse had been a deep cover agent in the Courts who’d ended up having to take the Logrus. She’d never been quite right since, but the family made allowances and Jesse really was useful at times. Hadrian could see that. Hadrian asked him about his upbringing. Dom/Nic told him a mix of his d’Este youth and an enthusiastic description of Tella. Hadrian seemed to like Dominicus and Nic found himself actually liking Hadrian back. Hadrian asked him which members of Dom’s family were most likely to act against him. Dom/Nic hesitated, thinking, for a while and then suggested they all needed to be watched. Just like, he gathered, Hadrian’s family needed watching. He ventured to say that all of the family intended to prosper with the Empire and emperor. Hadrian seemed to be pleased enough with this apparent balancing of loyalties. Dominicus was dismissed.

Nic dropped by Rai and Random to brief them on the Jesse story, and then stepped out to Trump Gerard and Kadim about the same. He got through to Gerard but Kadim’s Trump was warm. Back in the palace there was a commotion as Kara and others were brought into the infirmary. A Chaosite force had taken Kara’s fort and Kara was badly wounded. She might die. Nic informed Gerard by Trump. Osric’s Trump was warm, and so was Lora’s, so no healer-shapeshifters were available. Nic immediately suspected Dalt of doing away with them. The Erbma Trump wasn’t working. The TNN4 Trump was.

RAICHLEACH checked on Kara and found that she’d been brutally mindraped as well. She heard that Marius/Fitz was under suspicion. Rai tried to deflect suspicions towards Hypatia. She arranged for Covert Templar I.D. for herself, Rowena, Vartan and Teppo. She learned that the Templars were being mustered for a big war effort. Teppo was with the army. Rai checked on Cloakworld’s tech progress; it was solidly Iron Age now, a considerable improvement. Back in the palace, she talked with Eric. Eric was extremely worried. He thought that Dalt had nailed Osric and might have learned of the glass coffin. With Erbma poisoned they couldn’t use the Hall to monitor the remaining Key-bearers. Eric felt that the interest in Fitz was dangerous. A vacation might be in order, they could send him to investigate. Rai relayed that to Fitz and added that he should find Dalt.

FITZCAIRN accepted Rai’s suggestion that he get out of Dodge. He got impressions of the keybearers and took five Fingermen with him out into Shadow. Both keybearers were moving, so they weren’t stuck in static shadows any more. Fitz followed for a day then rested and grew five more Fingermen. The targets moved on in the morning and converged on one spot, one at a time. Fitz followed and found the glass coffin empty. He examined it and found no clues (no red hair) to who’d been in it. He Sought the closer target and found a big guy with the family look, wandering aimlessly. This was Cornelius, descendant of Mirelle, another guy from Kadim’s time. He’d heard of Fitzcairn. Fitz told him how much time had passed. "Fuck! Fucking Dworkin!" The glass coffin had held Dworkin, who’d laughed at Cornelius and disappeared. Dworkin had been carrying the Glitterball, the Hall of Mirrors Talisman. Fitz briefed Cornelius on current events, Dalt, the Empire and all. He asked about Fiona. She’s still been in power when Dworkin shanghaied Cornelius. Fitz was for following the other former keybearer, a woman. Cornelius was for finding Dalt or Dworkin and sucking up. Fitz’s will was prevailing, girl first, then chasing crazy godlike relatives.

NICCOLO/DOMINICUS Trumped to Tella and tried to Seek Osric but couldn’t get a lock on him. He Trumped Soothsayer and learned that Lora had simply disappeared, and that Soothsayer was not happy about it. He then Trumped to his army’s HQ and ordered a full muster. His Templars told him there was a LOT of Logrus headed their way. He requested more Templars and got three. He now had two Advanced Cloak mavens capable of fouling Logrus. Nic arrayed his available forces --- the full muster would take some time --- to slow the approaching army. He coldly evaluated his strengths and delegated the control of the army to his two best officers, the two he judged to be generals superior to himself, and assigned himself to point defense of the two Logrus-twisting Templars. He expected that they’d be swamped by Logrus tendrils first thing unless he fended them off with Ender of Days, his Pattern sword. He Trumped Random and arranged for emergency Trump Gating, though Random wished to keep the full extent of his abilities secret. Nic told him his worry that Osric and Lora were dead; if they were, everyone would have to reconsider their options.

RAICHLEACH suggested to Jesse that she find out what had happened to Lora in Chaos. Jesse took off to do that. Gerard Trumped in to see Kara, who was still comatose. Parsifal said they should coerce the moonlighters to work for him and Fitz. Ambrose volunteered for military service. Random was sobering up and actually wearing a sword. He took down a tapestry and cleaned the wall behind it in preparation for a big Trump gate. Rai Trumped Nic and borrowed a Trump of TNN4; he urged caution. Rai assumed her Kauldi-form (replacement for the Iago-form) and went to TNN4. Cerberus was not in the Dream Source room. Kauldi/Rai made her way towards the dungeons. She heard voices and hid. Two males, one female, none speaking Thari, were arguing about something. She hid and they passed her unaware; she followed them back to the Dream Source room. All were strangers. They sat at the table and concentrated on the Orb. Rai stealthed down to the dungeons. She found Lora, Osric and some other person unconscious in magical cells. Her Cloak-sense told her that they were in magical boxes, easily evaded by Pattern Defense. She did that and was surprised that no alarms sounded. All had been compelled by a linked group of minds. The unknown person was Rastor, emperor Justinian’s head of the secret service. She needed a sorcerer; she Trumped Fitz. She explained and Fitz came through, with Cornelius and ten Fingermen. Introductions. She briefed them: magic boxes, wizards upstairs with the Dreaming Orb, Rastor. Fitz and Cornelius, also a sorcerer, found no alarms and drained the power off the boxes – some of it into the Fingermen. They went up and captured the wizards, who lasted about one second against the Fingermen. On the way, they saw Cerberus through a window, romping in the clouds. They ran Osric and Lora through the TNN4 Pattern. Osric helped mindrape Rastor, who turned out to be a bastard son of Justinian and the man who’d tried to get Fitz killed. Rastor’s mind was stronger than either Fitz’ or Cornelius’ but weaker than Osric’s. The Dreamers had intended to put all three back in place. Osric got impressions of them from Rai and went up to deal with them; he was inclined to enslave them.